1. 90 Cents of Every Dollar We Spend Goes Back into Our Mission

We spend 90 cents of every dollar on our mission – providing jobs and training for people to gain skills and achieve independence. We invest back in our community with the services we provide. Something a lot of people don’t know is we run autonomously from other Goodwills in the nation, so we are able to provide programs and services that are most relevant to our community. To use an example, Southern Arizona has a high concentration of youth who have not completed high school. With services funded with your help, youth can obtain their GED or High School Diploma and move towards a path of employment. We’ve built and expanded our youth services to 6 programs in the past 5 years and have also added an Academic Services component for not only GED tutoring but industry-credential preparation.

Many charities spend a high percentage of their revenue on fundraising. However at Goodwill, we don’t. The majority of our revenue comes from sales of donated goods in our thrift stores; Goodwill really is a community-supported organization.

2. This Year, We’ve Helped Someone You Know

Goodwill provided career skills and placement services for over 9,000 Southern Arizonans including over 2,300 youth/young adults in our community. From our career fairs, youth mentoring, resume writing, and interviewing skills workshops or job placements, Goodwill of Southern Arizona helps your friends and neighbors get back to work.

Our region extends from Casa Grande, the greater Tucson area, south to the Nogales International Border, and Sierra Vista. We operate 7 youth programs and 7 adult programs throughout Southern Arizona.

Meet some of the people we were able to assist by watching the videos posted on each Program’s webpage on this site. Learn more about our Programs and Services.

3. Goodwill of Southern Arizona employees earn more than just a wage.

Goodwill of Southern Arizona supports over 650 full-time jobs, offers generous paid time off benefits, and a full array of other benefits to choose from, including medical, dental, vision, retirement plan, and much more! With Goodwill, our mission is to provide jobs and training to help people achieve independence and become successful.  With this mission at the forefront of all we do, we offer career ladders and employee development which allows for many internal promotional opportunities.

The jobs we provide range from entry level, hourly positions to professional, salaried positions. We pride ourselves in providing our community with full-time, 40-hour a week jobs. But most importantly, we offer the opportunity to give back to our local community by helping support our 6 adult and 6 youth programs when you work for Goodwill. You can be proud of the work you do and the people you will positively impact by demonstrating our core values and being Ambassadors of Goodwill!

One more thing, Goodwill was recently named one of the country’s “20 Most Inspiring Companies” by Forbes Magazine.

Learn more about our Employee Benefits.

4. Our Thrift Stores Support Mission Services

Many people think our thrift stores are places that sell used items to people with low incomes. While we are happy we can provide affordable goods, our thrift stores welcome all and it does so much more than provide a shopping experience! The revenue from our thrift stores supports the many programs and services we provide in our community.

To support our mission, we must be a well-run operation. Goodwill of Southern Arizona operates 18 retail thrift stores, 2 Outlets, 9 donation centers, and participation with ShopGoodwill.com. All of which support our local programs and drop-in resource centers. Last year our 10 local resource centers hosted over 25,000 visits, all 100% free to the public.

In fact, it’s not just our thrift stores that support our mission services. It’s also because of YOUR support that we are able to accomplish what we do. Learn more in our most recent annual report.

5. Our President/CEO is Erich Schmidt

Like other non-profits, Goodwill of Southern Arizona is managed by respected business leaders and a volunteer Board of Directors which provides guidance. Goodwill isn’t “owned” by anyone.

While there is a stigma around corporations taking more for themselves, our President/CEO is not walking away making millions of dollars a year. He is compensated based on experience and responsibility, and the Board of Directors sets the salary and compensations for our organization’s executives based on advice from a third party compensation consultant.

In response to some fabricated news, a Mark Curran has never had any association with any Goodwill. Steve Preston is the CEO of Goodwill Industries International. Learn more about him.

If you’ve seen rumors on various news outlets, please know that Snopes investigated those false reports. Please read their full article. If you would like to learn more about our organization, please feel free to contact us and schedule a meeting or tour at (520) 623-5174.